totally odd family traditions

[Walt Disney1955]

Our family always rides Small World first at WDW. Always. It was the first ride we ever went on. My mom heard from her hairdresser before our first trip that Small World was a "must". So what is one of the first things we see after we walk under the Castle? You got it, Small World.

Going to Disneyland I did not keep that tradition though. It's further at the back of the park, so there were several rides I did beforehand.

 

[Matt_Black]

On our last day, we always have breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, a hold over from when we drove down and back. (NEVER. AGAIN. I will gladly pay the outrageous airline fares and deal with TSA's nonsense rather than ride for 20 hours).

I'm trying to make it a tradition to get at least my sister to join in on a big, Ric Flair style "WOO!" while in line for Space Mountain ("Oldest ride in the park, but still has the longest lines! Everybody wants on Space Mountain!"), but so far, she's not going for it.

 

[Minigma]

We cheer and yell "We're on Vacation!" as the Magical Express bus passes under the arch that says you're entering Disney World. Most people on the bus don't notice the arch, but they definitely notice us!

 

[BigRedDad]

My dad took my family to WDW when my daughter had turned 2. We do not know if he knew at the time or not that he was not going to be around any longer. He passed 9 months later from cancer. Every time we go, she writes a little note, colors a picture, or both. The first time, we got to MK and bought a balloon. We tied the her note to it and she gave it a kiss and let it go. The CM looked at us with a weird look, nothing bad or anything, but naturally inquisitive. My daughter was a little upset and tearing up a bit. I explained to her that she wanted to tell her grandpa that she was at Disney again and wished he were here. The CM started to tear up as well, gave her a big hug, and gave her another balloon.

We don't do it every trip. Only when she thinks about it and wants to. When we do, the CMs usually have the same "what did you just do?" look and we explain. It always changes the mood, maybe make it a little upsetting at first, then remembering the good times instead of the bad. Brings a smile to their face and brightens the day!!

 

[WDWVolFan]

We live in Georgia so we can drive to WDW...to me, it's so awesome to drive the 8 hours or so from the ATL burbs to Disney...the excitement and all...we just enjoy the drive, talking about what we wanna do, what we're looking for...it's such a great feeling. Last time we left at night so I was tired and didn't get much of that, but am looking forward to next year to drive during the day...leaving early in the morning, enjoying a (hopefully) beautiful weather and look forward to the week ahead.

 

[Daniel Johnson]

We live in Georgia so we can drive to WDW...to me, it's so awesome to drive the 8 hours or so from the ATL burbs to Disney...the excitement and all...we just enjoy the drive, talking about what we wanna do, what we're looking for...it's such a great feeling. Last time we left at night so I was tired and didn't get much of that, but am looking forward to next year to drive during the day...leaving early in the morning, enjoying a (hopefully) beautiful weather and look forward to the week ahead.

We are in Albany, Georgia. Four hour drive from my door to the mouse's.

 

[216bruce]

First ride is Splash Mountain regardless of weather and always, always go on Carousel of Progress. Also, first meal is at Cosmic Rays and groovin' to the sound-stylings of Sonny Eclipse. Also, first purchase is a beer in Roaring Fork after we check-in!

 

[rsoxguy]

Mine just involve doing stuff to embarrass my daughter publicly. I guess I'm just a sentimental traditionalist at heart. I think I feel a tear welling up.

 

[Goofyernmost]

The first thing I do when I get to Main Street is to yell out... "Does anyone know the direction to Harry Potter?"

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

Hi all, this is my first post on WDWmagic! Our tradition just started when hubby and I started going to Disney alone!!!! We are in our 60's and love going to WDW by ourselves. We always go to buzz lightyear in MK and tSM in Hollywood studios, first thing and we try to outshoot each other. We have become quite competitive. I look online to find cheat sheets for Buzz and TSM, you know, where to hit the target for the most points, etc. I still can't beat my husband, but it sure is fun. We act like a couple of kids, laughing all the way and race back to get in line! We discovered our love of Disney alone when we stayed a few extra days without the kids/grandkids and loved it. Don't get me wrong, we love going with the family, but this is our tradition, every year to go to our magical place, Disney world

 

[LAKid53]

We completely ignore all the parks and head to Downtown Disney our first night to watch the latest Marvel or Disney or Pixar movie....gotta have some potato skins!

And make stupid faces for the photos on rides.

 

[KIsAPrincess]

We always go on Jungle Cruise as our first ride. It was my brother's favorite ride and it just feels normal to go their first. My daughter even jokes around with the skipper just like my brother used to. I just love our "tradition."

 

[Megbutnotmegan]

Our tradition started when my siblings and I were kids. My parents had a trip to Arizona the year before our first Disney trip. They were raving about the beautiful saguaros the entire year. So when we went on Big Thunder Mtn and saw saguaros it became our tradition to throw our arms in the saguaro position and yell "SAGUARO" at the top of our lungs. Here we are 20+ years later continuing the tradition on every visit!

 

[4disneylovers]

My dad took my family to WDW when my daughter had turned 2. We do not know if he knew at the time or not that he was not going to be around any longer. He passed 9 months later from cancer. Every time we go, she writes a little note, colors a picture, or both. The first time, we got to MK and bought a balloon. We tied the her note to it and she gave it a kiss and let it go. The CM looked at us with a weird look, nothing bad or anything, but naturally inquisitive. My daughter was a little upset and tearing up a bit. I explained to her that she wanted to tell her grandpa that she was at Disney again and wished he were here. The CM started to tear up as well, gave her a big hug, and gave her another balloon.

We don't do it every trip. Only when she thinks about it and wants to. When we do, the CMs usually have the same "what did you just do?" look and we explain. It always changes the mood, maybe make it a little upsetting at first, then remembering the good times instead of the bad. Brings a smile to their face and brightens the day!!

This is a very sweet and moving story. I applaud you for letting her decide when to do this. It was a wonderful idea.

 

[DManRightHere]

Sacrificing a small mammal on the first night to the rain gods then daubing mickey heads on our butts in the animal blood before mooning on the resort balcony at other guests.

A mouse?

 

[joethetugboater]

We just went back in June and are now returning oct 9th. Back in June we went to the Japan pavilion let my 7 yr old daughter pick an oyster out and get the pearl etc out of it. Then had it put in a Cinderella carriage necklace. This will be our new tradition. Hope'n to save all the pearls and have another necklace made for her when she gets married.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

We always get our picture taken on the carousel and spend our last night at the MK.

 

[Oriolesmagic]

There's a little fountain to the left in the final scene of El Rio de Tiempo. Ever since I first started going to Disney (17 years ago) we've done the ride nearly every time we've been to Epcot and my sister and I have always had coins to throw into the fountain from the boat. It's fun to make a wish and see if you can make it come true by throwing it into the top level of the fountain.

Some others:
We always go to the Confectionery on Main Street. That's usually our first stop of the day in MK.
My sister and I always go to Ice Station....err Club Cool and down an entire cup of Beverly.
I always have to say every line in every scene (including the queue) of the Great Movie Ride. (Not so much a tradition as much as it is an annoyance to everyone else )

 

[TheAmazingBobbo]

Only one trip was with my family and one other one with my mom, but my group always always always made a pilgrimage to Norway to ride Maelstrom... guess that's one tradition that will be ending